| “ | Mother always said if you're too stupid to see the wool being pulled over your eyes, you deserve what you get. | „ |
| ~ April Troost to Dr. George Huang. |
April Troost is an antagonist appearing in the Law & Order franchise. She is a brilliant, psychopathic con artist who runs a series of intricate scams with her mother, Lorraine Dillon.
She was portrayed by Estella Warren, who also portrayed Matty McPherson in the TV movie Blue Seduction.
Biography[]
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit[]
In the episode "Design", April, heavily pregnant, is talked down from a ledge by Detective Olivia Benson of the NYPD's Special Victims Unit. While being questioned by Benson, she tells her that she was raped by Barclay Pallister, a wealthy businessman. When Benson questions him, Pallister denies he is the father of April's child, but a DNA test proves otherwise; regardless, he denies raping April.
The case goes to trial, but April is apparently killed in a car crash and Pallister is suspected of killing her. Benson and her partner, Detective Elliot Stabler, later learn that April was keeping photos of wealthy men, including Pallister, in a safety deposit box and that she was searching for the ideal man to father her child. It later turns out she drugged many men so she could obtain their sperm, and she impregnated herself with Pallister's genetic material.
The detectives also find out that April used to work at the McManus Clinic, a fertility clinic run by Dr. Douglas McManus. They take McManus in for questioning and learn he was giving April money. The detectives initially suspect that McManus is sleeping with April, only for McManus to reveal that April is his daughter and that she is alive and well.
Benson confronts April in her apartment and after seeing she is no longer pregnant, demands to know the location of her baby, which April claims was still-born. April is then arrested and evaluated by forensic psychiatrist Dr. George Huang, to whom she openly admits that she sees other people as objects to be used and discarded.
It later turns out that April and her mother Lorraine Dillon are pulling a con together. Fortunately, the detectives manage to get April's daughter, Sarah, away from Lorraine and placed in Pallister's custody.
Law & Order[]
In the episode "Flaw", April and Lorraine are caught defrauding a man named David Glass out of $500,000 when their partner, Patrick Sullivan, is murdered. Lorraine is arrested for Patrick's murder and is eventually put on trial, claiming that Patrick raped April when she was a child. April turns on her during the trial and claims she and Patrick had a consensual sexual relationship and her mother murdered him out of jealousy.
Lorraine is convicted, but Benson figures out what really happened: April got greedy and decided not to split the shares, so she killed Patrick, lied to her mother about why she did it so she would take the blame, and then make sure she was convicted. Benson tries to get Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy to go after her, but he is satisfied with the verdict and lets the conviction stand.
It is later discovered April also killed her own son after she discovered he was deformed, and Benson and the DA's office try to make a case against April. They cannot find the infant's body, however, and their only witness is an old boyfriend whose credibility is questionable. April gloats to Benson that she will beat the charges, until Lorraine walks in and tells her she made a deal to incriminate her in her baby's death if her sentence is reduced. April is arrested for murder, and she goes to prison.
Quotes[]
| “ | I know there are rules, but they don't apply to me. | „ |
| ~ April Troost to Dr. Huang during her interview. |
| “ | Mother didn't want me picking up any bad habits. [...] Feeling sorry for people, what Mother called "getting soft." She taught me to stay alert, be on the lookout. [...] There are always people who want to take advantage of me; that's why I have to take advantage of them first. Survival of the fittest, screw or get screwed; Mother drilled that into me. She taught me everything she knew about people, men in particular. | „ |
| ~ April Troost to Dr. Huang, explaining her upbringing. |
| “ | I'm not confused. I'm thinking about what's best for me. No one else will. | „ |
| ~ April Troost to Dr. McManus, who tries to reason with her. |
| “ | Well, hello, Detective Benson. Did you miss us? | „ |
| ~ April Troost reappearing again with Lorraine. |
| “ | Well played, mom. How much did you get for talking? | „ |
| ~ April Troost to Lorraine, once she's been had. |
Trivia[]
- April is inspired by Kenneth Kimes, the son and accomplice of con artist and murderer Sante Kimes, and by Richard Allen Minsky, a.k.a. "The Con Artist Rapist".
External links[]
- April Troost on the Law & Order Wiki
